What’s Genital Herpes? Diagnosis, Development and Treatment
What is genital herpes?
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and affects the lining of the genitals and the adjacent skin. It affects both men and women.
According to latest data, 45 million people in the United States have been infected with HSV-2 (source: health.ny.gov).
How is genital herpes diagnosed?
First, you should visit your doctor if you have a sexual transmissible disease. He will take a detailed look at your complaints and will give you a full review looking for symptoms of the disease.
Typically, due to the characteristic appearance of the skin-mucous changes, the diagnosis is easy. In case of difficulty and atypical course of the disease, your doctor may take a virological examination material from the fluid, filling the bubbles or from the bottom of the wounds.
How is genital herpes treated?
Aciclovir is used in the form of tablets (for heavy circulation) and topical creams that are applied four to five times a day.
Treatment makes sense when it begins with the first signs of the disease.
You need to know that once the disease has gone into its latent phase and is experiencing clinical manifestations at different times throughout life. Medication therapy relieves your condition at the time of the relapse but can not achieve your full healing.
What are the characteristics of male genital herpes?
In men, characteristic bubbles and painful wounds appear most often on the head of the penis.
Related: Blood in Semen: How Serious It is, Causes & Treatment
What are the features of female genital herpes?
Outward appearance of infection with Herpes simplex virus type 2 is particularly common around the vagina (large and small labia, clitoris).
In other cases, vagina (colpos) and cervix (exocerciitis) are affected – complaints of abdominal drowsiness, fever (increase in body temperature), general malaise and discomfort in the lower abdomen. Typically, lymph nodes located adjacent to each other are slightly enlarged and painful.
Read also: Dealing With Swollen Stomach: 8 Causes, Fruits & Herbs As Remedies
Especially dangerous is a recurrence of the disease at the end of the pregnancy. When passing through the generic canal, the baby can become infected and become seriously ill.
Related: Oral Health in Pregnancy: 5 Things That a Future Mom Should Consider
How does it develops?
The incubation period (time from infection to first symptoms) is 2-7 days.
In some people, the disease has a mild leakage and almost no specific complaints, while other painful bubbles develop over time, amid a general fatigue and a rise in body temperature.
You should know that once the infection has occurred, it is preserved for life. It occurs periodically as a result of activation of the available HSV, usually under stress, immune system decline and accompanying infections.
The disease in both genders goes through several phases.
The first phase begins after the incubation period has elapsed. It is associated with redness and appearance of groups of small, painful bubbles in the infected area. Bubbles are filled with clear, or in some cases, cloudy fluid. They are easily bursting to form wounds. There may also be complaints from burning and stinging during urination.
Symptoms usually resolve for 10-14 days, after which the disease goes into its latent phase.
During the dormant phase, the virus is located in nerve ganglia (nerve cell clusters) located near the spinal cord. No symptoms or complaints.
You should know that during the latency phase, it is also possible to get HSV if you are having sex with a person who is the carrier of the virus. It is therefore necessary to always use protective equipment.
Under certain conditions – stress, accompanying infections, sexual intercourse, menstrual bleeding in women, etc., the virus is activated, which occurs in the appearance of the complaints described above.
